A program-level strategic diagnostic

Know which work is truly sustainable.

Evaluate one program, service, or major activity through nine focused questions. Keep Mission, Money, and Capacity separate—then use the pattern to choose a more useful strategic conversation.

Program Sustainability Diagnostic

A strategic pattern is more useful than one total score.

Each dimension is scored separately from 3 to 12. A program may be essential to mission and still require a new funding model, added capacity, or a partner. This tool makes that distinction visible.

Program, service, or major activityRate one item. Avoid assessing the whole organization at once.Assessment dateUse the current date or the date of the leadership conversation.What has put this activity under pressure?Optional. Capture the context that should shape the next decision.

Your program sustainability profile

See the three dimensions before deciding.

The diagnostic does not produce a pass/fail verdict. It identifies the strategic question that the current pattern creates.

Mission—Complete the questions to calculate.

Money—Complete the questions to calculate.

Capacity—Complete the questions to calculate.

Complete the nine questions.

The diagnostic will show separate Mission, Money, and Capacity bands after each question has a rating.

Next action: identify the program and gather evidence for each question.

Scores will appear as High, Moderate, or Low—not as one collapsed total.

Your responses are saved only in this browser. Download a PDF or print the page if you need to share the conversation with others.

From diagnostic to decision

Name the next move.

Use the recommendation as a conversation starter. The leadership team determines the action after reviewing the evidence, constraints, and community impact.

Strategic choiceDecision ownerBy whenEvidence we still needOur next move is…

High Mission · High Money · High Capacity

Protect / Invest

Mission-critical work with a viable model and sufficient operating conditions is a candidate for protection, improvement, and thoughtful investment.

High Mission · Low Money

Redesign the revenue model

The core question is not whether the program matters. It is how its full cost, revenue reliability, and infrastructure contribution can be improved.

High Mission · Low Capacity

Build capacity or partner

Protect the outcome while considering staffing, systems, workflow, scope, shared delivery, or a strategic partner.

Low Mission or unsustainable pattern

Question, pause, or exit

Where strategic fit and viability are both weak, redirect limited resources toward work the organization is better positioned to carry.

Educational notice. This public planning tool is based on the Program Sustainability Diagnostic criteria supplied for the Funding the Mission in Uncertain Times Field Guide. It does not provide legal, financial, accounting, employment, or tax advice and should be used with professional judgment and the organization’s actual operating facts.